Boehner: We'll look at Obama housing plan

Speaker John Boehner said House Republicans will take a look at whether the Obama administration’s mortgage refinance program can be done without congressional approval.

“We’re all concerned about the mortgage problems and the state of housing in America,” the Ohio Republican said Tuesday morning. “The administration’s tried three or four different plans over the last couple of years, frankly none of them have worked. And I believe it’s important that if we’re really going to help housing we get our economy going again, get more people back to work and create more demand for housing around the country.”

Story Continued Below

The White House push, which is being touted during a West Coast swing this week, is being done by executive order, in part to portray congressional Republicans as intransigent and unwilling to work with the president to spur economic growth.

But the House this week is trying to show good faith, they say. They’re working to repeal a provision that institutes a 3 percent tax on companies who do business with the government. The provision does not go into effect for several years, but Boehner said it’s a “wet blanket over small businesses who deal with local governments, state governments, the federal government.”